


Waiting for the Night

by TheEigthPillarGeneral



Series: Black Moon [26]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Band Meetings, F/M, Japan Record Awards, M/M, Romance, Touring, Visual Kei
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 20:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17189858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEigthPillarGeneral/pseuds/TheEigthPillarGeneral
Summary: After a suggestion from Grimmjow and Nelliel during their tour, Renji and the rest of Black Moon plan a joint-concert with Byakuya. In the meantime, Renji takes Byakuya to meet his family and watch the Japan Record Awards together.





	Waiting for the Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [junko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/gifts), [Josey (cestus)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestus/gifts).



> I'm really sorry for being so late. I had major writer's block for this series, but the announcement of the GazettE's world tour (for which I've got tickets for Toronto~!) managed to restore my creativity. Without further ado, here's the new instalment. Enjoy!

It seemed like the first leg of the tour was going by in a mere blur. Between autograph sessions, performing, and travelling, everything was going by so fast.

But Renji wasn’t going to lie. He was having a lot of fun. He enjoyed checking out these new places whenever he could, and meeting so many new fans at every autograph session. So far, he really liked Takamatsu and Okayama; they were incredibly beautiful places. And of course, performing in all of these large, elegant venues was also really exciting.

They were in Osaka on their second day, having already finished their first show at the ORIX Theater last night. Since it was a free day today, Renji had decided to use this opportunity to explore the city a little bit. Which was how he found himself at the Osaka Castle Park, along with Ichigo. While the weather was a bit cold, it wasn’t really too bad, and the snow just made the surroundings of the Osaka Castle all the more beautiful.

And then, a surprise came in the form of none other than Grimmjow and Nelliel, who were on a cross-country road trip, as it turned out. They also had tickets for tonight’s show at the ORIX Theater, but for now, they were just using the time to explore Osaka. Renji had used the opportunity to introduce Nelliel to Ichigo, the former giving him a hug after she’d hugged Renji.

“Wow, Grimm was right!” Nelliel said with a giggle. “Ichigo-kun is really cute, isn’t he?”

Renji smiled. “Yeah, he’s pretty cute,” he joked.

“Oh, shut up,” Ichigo said half-heartedly.

The four of them were exploring Osaka Castle together now.

“So I heard you guys went to Byakuya’s first autograph session,” Renji said, glancing at Grimmjow and Nelliel. “How’d that go?”

“It went pretty great,” Nelliel said. “Byakuya-kun’s album is absolutely amazing, isn’t it? And he’s super pretty!”

“Not gonna lie, he was really pretty,” Grimmjow said with a grin. “I told him he should do a show with you guys.”

“Yeah, he told me,” Renji said.

Ichigo looked pleasantly surprised. “A concert with Byakuya? You know, that actually sounds like a good idea,” he said. “We should totally do it.”

Renji couldn’t help but smile. Leave it to Ichigo to jump on any opportunity for a concert. “Let’s bring it up with Yoruichi-san and the others first; see what they have to say about it,” he said. “And besides, we’ll need a special occasion to perform.”

“I heard that the Beauty Queens will be doing a joint concert with Dokugamine Riruka for Valentine’s Day,” Nelliel was saying. “Maybe you guys could do a White Day concert?”

A White Day concert? Renji raised an eyebrow as he considered it. “Yeah, that sounds great,” he said honestly. “You know, you two should become promoters or band managers, since you’ve got some good ideas.”

“You kidding me? Sounds exhausting,” Grimmjow said in disbelief. “I’m perfectly happy with piercing ears, tongues, and eyebrows, thanks.”

Nelliel giggled. “Yeah, I’m fine with doing tattoos,” she agreed. “Besides, I don’t think we’re exactly manager material.”

“Well, Grimm ain’t manager material,” Renji muttered, which got Grimmjow’s attention.

“The fuck did you just say?” Grimmjow challenged, though his eyes were friendly and his tone not completely threatening.

“You’re not manager material, jackass,” Renji said in a mock-challenging tone.

“Great, here they go again,” Nelliel sighed as she watched her boyfriend squaring up and posturing with Renji.

Ichigo chuckled. “Are they always like this?” he asked.

“Pretty much. God, you should see them when they watch 80's action movies together,” Nelliel said, shaking her head. “But don’t worry, they do care about each other… even if they won’t say it out loud.”

Sure enough, a few moments later, Renji and Grimmjow had their arms wrapped around each other in a quick bear hug as they continued cracking jokes with each other.

“Well, we gotta get going soon,” Renji was saying. “You know, for more sound checks before the show starts.” He clapped Grimmjow’s shoulder. “I’ll see you and Nel tonight, then. Well, I might not be able to see you from the stage but, you get what I mean.”

“Yeah, we’ll be looking forward for tonight,” Grimmjow said with a grin. “Make sure you guys give us a good show, okay?”

“Damn right, we will,” Renji said. “Anyways, enjoy your trip, lovebirds.”

After saying their goodbyes and parting ways, Renji and Ichigo headed back to the hotel where Yoruichi and the others were waiting. Once everyone was ready, they all got into the car that took them to the ORIX Theater to get ready for the show tonight. Just like the other venues they’d gone to, the ORIX Theater was quite impressive in size, sound, and appearance. And again, the dressing rooms were just as nice as the other ones that Renji had been in.

It was as they were getting ready for the show when Renji brought up the possibility of a joint concert with Byakuya. He’d decided to ask about it shortly after he’d changed into his outfit.

“You guys,” he said, getting everyone’s attention. “May I suggest something?”

“Go ahead,” Yoruichi said.

“See, when Ichigo and I were out at the Osaka Castle, we ran into two friends of mine,” Renji started. “They’re on a road trip and they’re also gonna be watching our show tonight, and they brought up the idea of a joint-concert after they’d gone to Byakuya’s autograph session. Nelliel said she thought of it after hearing about the upcoming joint concert between the Beauty Queens and Dokugamine Riruka for Valentine’s Day. So they suggested we do a joint concert with Byakuya. What do you guys think?”

Yoruichi looked pleasantly surprised, and so did the rest of the band.

“A joint concert, huh? That actually sounds like a lot of fun!” Shuuhei said, looking in the mirror as Yumichika applied his makeup.

“Yeah, they suggested we do a joint-concert on White Day,” Ichigo added.

“A White Day concert does sound like a good idea,” Toshiro said.

“We should ask Byakuya-kun and see what he thinks, though,” Chad pointed out.

Yoruichi smiled. “Well, I’ll call Ukitake-san and see what he has to say about this,” she said, pulling her phone out and dialing his number before putting the call to speakerphone.

It took a few rings, but Ukitake picked up the phone soon enough. “Hello, this is Ukitake Jushiro,” Ukitake greeted.

“Hey, Ukitake-san!” Yoruichi greeted. “Long time no see! I hope I’m not interrupting anything important, am I?”

“Ah, Yoruichi-san!” Ukitake said, his voice pleased. “Don’t worry, you’re not interrupting anything. How’s the tour so far?”

“It’s going great,” she said with a smile. “I’m calling to make a suggestion regarding a concert. See, Ichigo and Renji were talking with some friends and they got the idea of doing a joint-concert with Byakuya-kun on White Day, kind of like how the Beauty Queens are doing a Valentine’s Day joint-concert with Dokugamine Riruka. What do you think?”

“You know, that does sound like a great idea!” Ukitake said. “Hold on, Byakuya-kun is here right now, so let me ask him about this.” There was a pause as they could hear Ukitake’s muffled voice on the other end asking Byakuya about the joint concert. While Renji couldn’t hear Byakuya’s response, he only hoped that he’d say yes to it.

A few moments later, Ukitake got back on the phone. “Well, good news: Byakuya-kun says he’s up for it,” he said, much to Renji’s delight. “He would like to discuss it further, though. So how about we plan a meeting at some point?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Yoruichi agreed. “As you may know, after the twenty-sixth, we’ll have a break in between our tour. So we should have a meeting sometime after the twenty-sixth and before the fourth of January, since we’ll be travelling to Abashiri then.”

“Perhaps the third of January, after the New Year celebrations?” Ukitake suggested.

Yoruichi glanced at Renji and the rest of the band, who all nodded and gave their agreement.

“Yep. January 3rd works perfect,” Yoruichi said.

“Wonderful!” Ukitake said. “Well, tell the band I said hi, and wish them good luck for tonight, will you?”

“Will do. See you soon!” With that, Yoruichi ended the call and gave them all a smile.

“So, you looking forward to it yet?”

Ichigo nodded. “Of course,” he said.

“Well, try and stay focused on tonight’s show, alright?” she reminded them. “Make sure you give it your all.”

“Oh, no need to tell us twice, Yoruichi-san!” Shuuhei said with a grin. “We’re gonna bring the house down again tonight!”

“I know you will. Just making sure, that’s all.”

Within a short while, they were all ready for the show. Everyone was in their outfits and had makeup upon their faces, and when it was time to head on-stage, they walked on to the opening track and were greeted with the wild cheering of the crowd. Once again, it was a full house at the ORIX Theater, and as Renji slung his guitar over his shoulder, he saw Grimmjow and Nelliel in the front row, cheering them on.

When the beat of ‘Gomi Tame’ dropped, Renji was shredding the chords on his guitar and headbanging to the fast beat. And as Ichigo started singing, Renji lost himself in the music, the energy, and the cheers of the fans, just like with every single show.

Before he even realized, they’d finished both ‘Gomi Tame’ and ‘Stray Dog’, and now the fourth song was starting. Renji was playing the opening riffs right before the beat dropped, and Ichigo stood up on the black box before him, shouting, “Come on, Osaka! Let’s get crazy tonight!”

The hall erupted with deafening cheers and Renji just stopped thinking about everything else; all he focused on was the music and the fans for the rest of the night.

* * *

Three days had passed since Renji returned to Tokyo from Sendai, where they had their last show at the Sun Plaza Hall before the break. And like the other shows, Sendai had been just as successful; in spite of the cold weather, things had really heated up in the venue. Sure, Renji’s neck was pretty sore from all the headbanging that he’d been doing. But right now, all the pain was definitely worth it.

“You really need to take it easy,” Byakuya was saying, his voice gentle as he pressed Renji’s shoulders. “Headbanging so aggressively isn’t very good for you.”

Renji chuckled. “What can I say? It was the heat of the moment,” he said. “And besides, it was fun.”

Byakuya had showed up by his apartment an hour ago with the hopes of spending time with Renji, who was more than happy to let him in. Now, Renji sat on the ground in front of his couch while Byakuya sat behind him and massaged his sore neck and shoulders.

Renji hissed as Byakuya pressed a particularly tight spot. “Fuck… yeah, right there,” he said in relief. “God, you’re good at this.” He glanced back at Byakuya. “So, how’s it going for you? You didn’t miss me too much, did you?” His voice was teasing.

“I missed you a bit,” Byakuya said honestly. “But I’ve been managing. And you? How was the first half of your tour, overall?”

“It was awesome,” Renji said with a smile. “The cities were great, and the fans were better. They really gave their all during every show, and it was fun to meet them during the autograph sessions. But I missed you too. What’ve you been up to?”

“Well…” Byakuya thought for a moment. “I’ve planned a small tour to promote ‘Hakuteiken’.”

“Right, I heard,” Renji remembered. He’d seen the dates on Byakuya’s website. “I’ll try and come by for your show on the first of February.” He smiled slightly. “You excited for them?”

“Yes, actually,” Byakuya said. “I also did a photoshoot for _Cure._ Did you see the preview photo I posted?”

“I sure did.” Renji chuckled as he remembered seeing the photo. God, if it didn’t bring back memories of his own photoshoot from June… “It was pretty sexy to look at.”

He laughed when he felt Byakuya’s hands falter a little bit and heard him clear his throat. “Thank you…” Byakuya mumbled.

Smiling slightly, Renji changed the subject. “So, what do you think of a joint-concert together? I know Grimm and Nel suggested it to you at your autograph session.”

“It does sound like fun,” Byakuya admitted. “It would be nice to perform alongside you and the rest of Black Moon, especially if it’s for White Day. And it could be a good counterpart to the Beauty Queens’ joint-concert with Dokugamine Riruka.”

“Speaking of the Beauty Queens,” Renji remembered, “The Record Awards are on tonight. And I was thinking about going over to my folks’ bar to watch the ceremony live. Would… Would you like to come with me? I thought it would be a nice opportunity to introduce you to my family.”

Byakuya was surprised for a moment, but at the same time, he felt really happy that Renji was offering this to him. So he nodded. “I’d love to meet them,” he said. “They seem like really good people.”

“They are,” Renji said, smiling. “And we can watch the Record Awards together.”

“Won’t it be busy tonight?”

“Sundays are generally slower in the evenings. I’m sure we’ll be fine. But we should be sure to just dress up a little bit, you know? Make ourselves look presentable and all that.”

“You’re right.”

* * *

Evening finally came and both Byakuya and Renji were ready to meet the latter’s family. Byakuya had dressed up a little bit in a black turtleneck sweater and blue jeans, and Renji wore a burgundy sweater with jeans as they both made their way to Hachioji.

It didn’t take too long for them to reach the Hachioji district, and the bar itself wasn’t too far off either. “Here we are,” Renji announced as they stood in front of a small brick apartment building.

The sign above the entrance read, ‘The Twin Kings’, and the place was relatively empty inside. However, they didn’t enter through the front doors; instead, they came in through the back.

Just as Renji was closing the door, Byakuya saw a heavily-tattooed older man with graying hair and smile lines on his face, and dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, come down from upstairs. Byakuya also noticed that the man’s arms were covered in skull and flower tattoos.

Upon seeing Renji, the man broke into a smile as he came over to them.

“Renji, my boy!” he said, pulling Renji in for a hug.

Renji smiled and hugged him back. “Hey, Takuya-san,” he greeted before pulling away. “I hope I’m not intruding on anything important?”

“Oh, of course not! You’re always welcome to come by anytime!” Takuya then took notice of Byakuya. “Who’s this?”

“Byakuya, this is Takuya-san, one of my dads,” Renji introduced. “Takuya-san, this is Kuchiki Byakuya, the CEO of the record label I’m under and my boyfriend… but that’s supposed to be a secret.”

Byakuya offered a small smile as he bowed slightly. “A pleasure to meet you,” he said, holding his hand out.

Takuya laughed lightly. “No need for formalities, Kuchiki-san,” he said as he shook Byakuya’s hand. “And it’s nice to meet you too. Why don’t you both come on in? We may be closed for the night, but you’re always welcome to stop by anytime!”

Renji and Byakuya followed Takuya to the main bar area, which was fairly empty for the most part.

So far, Byakuya liked Takuya. He seemed pretty friendly and easy-going despite his rough appearance.

The bar itself was pretty cozy. The walls were dark and decorated with some lovely paintings above the booth seats. Towards the end was a rectangular bar with stools around it. On the back wall were various types of glasses: wine, beer, cocktail, and shot glasses, along with a variety of different bottles: wines, vodka, whiskey, rum, among others. On the wall above the shelves of glasses was a TV that was on TBS Japan, the channel that would be airing the Record Awards at six-thirty.

“So, you guys want anything to drink?” Takuya asked as he made his way behind the bar counter.

“Well, some beer would be nice,” Renji said, taking a seat at the bar.

“I could also go for a beer,” Byakuya added as he sat down next to Renji.

“Mind pouring one for me too, Takuya?” A woman’s voice called from the back.

Right then, Byakuya saw an older woman entering the bar. She had shoulder-length black hair with gray streaks, smile lines on her face, a red bandana around her forehead, and also wore biker-like clothing. She was also heavily tattooed, her arms sporting similar designs to those of Takuya’s.

When she saw Renji, she smiled and made her way over to him for a hug. “Renji, I didn’t know you were coming here!” she said, sounding absolutely thrilled as she hugged him.

Renji returned the hug with a smile. “Thought it’d be a nice surprise,” he said before turning to Byakuya. “Byakuya, this is Junko-san, one of my moms. Junko-san, this is Byakuya, my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Junko was surprised.

“Well, it’s a secret.”

“Ah, I see.” She smiled at Byakuya. “Nice to meet you, Byakuya-kun,” she said.

Byakuya smiled slightly. “It’s nice to meet you too, Junko-san.”

He had to admit, he liked this woman. She had a no-nonsense air about her, but she was quite friendly at the same time. Both Junko and Takuya had made Byakuya feel welcome almost instantly, and seeing the way Renji interacted with them warmed his heart. It was obvious that they both loved Renji a lot, and vice versa, and Byakuya could only imagine what it must’ve been like to grow up in such a colourful, caring environment like this one.

“So, how did you two meet?” Junko asked as she wiped down the bar counter.

Renji smiled. “He showed up for my first concert with Black Moon back in March,” he said. “Then he offered us a contract with his label, so we signed on and since then, he’s helped us out as much as he can.”

“I also showed him some of the songs I’d written and he encouraged me to become a singer,” Byakuya added. “Things just went from there, and we started dating in May.”

“Does anyone else know about it?” Takuya asked. “I’ve seen the rumours online, you know.”

“I mean, it’s kind of an open secret among my bandmates and his backing band,” Renji admitted. “But no one else knows.”

“Good.” Takuya’s voice sounded slightly firm. “I’d hate to see both your careers being ruined because of your relationship.”

They talked a little bit longer before the other two couples, all dressed in similar biker-like clothes, entered the room. After more hugs and greetings from them, Renji introduced them to Byakuya as Naoki and Sayaka, a pair of tattoo artists, and Yuka and Hayate, a pair of glassblowers. As it turned out, Yuka and Hayate had done all of the colourful glass decorations throughout the bar, while Sayaka and Naoki had done all their tattoos. In addition, both those couples had greeted Byakuya just as kindly and warmly.

“So, how did you fall in love with Renji?” Yuka asked, her eyes glinting teasingly. “Was it the tattoos? His hair?”

Byakuya blushed and chuckled as he and Renji repeated their story to her.

“But I will admit, his tattoos are definitely very striking,” Byakuya added at the end.

Renji laughed. “Yeah, no one can resist the tattoos!” he joked, earning laughs from everyone else.

“Oh, the Record Awards are starting!” Hayate said, pointing at the screen.

Sure enough, the camera was now showing the stage of the New National Theater Tokyo. The audience was clapping as the hosts of the ceremony, Unohana Retsu and Aizen Sousuke, made their entrance onstage. Unohana was dressed quite beautifully in a slim black sleeveless high-neck gown decorated with gold beading, her hair flowing freely and adorned with a gold flower hairpin. Meanwhile, Aizen was dressed in a tuxedo, his hair in its usual swept-back style with a single strand hanging down his face, looking classy as ever.

Unohana smiled at the audience as she held her microphone. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the 60th Japan Record Awards,” she greeted.

The audience clapped again, and when the applause died down, Aizen was the one to speak next.

“This year has definitely been a great year for music,” Aizen said, his voice smooth and calming as always. “We’ve had many new artists emerge in the industry, comebacks from established artists, and of course, plenty of good music. But sadly, only a few can be honoured and embellished with awards. Rest assured, however, that tonight, we will celebrate the accomplishments of all the worthy artists in this industry.”

As the audience applauded, Naoki shook his head. “That Aizen Sousuke… no wonder he’s so damn popular,” he said.

Renji nodded. Aizen was pretty charming, he had to admit. Was it really any wonder that _Perfect Hypnosis_ was such a big hit?

With another beatific smile, Unohana continued. “And of course, there will be live performances tonight,” she said. “But first, we would like to present the winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award!”

After presenting the Lifetime Achievement and Achievement Awards, there was a commercial break. Upon returning to the ceremony, the Planning Awards and Arrangement Award were presented to the winners. And then it was time for a performance.

“Now we shall have our first performance tonight,” Unohana announced. “We are honoured to welcome none other than the Beauty Queens, who shall perform ‘Dance All Night’ tonight.”

As the audience applauded and Unohana and Aizen moved aside, Rangiku and Orihime entered onstage while the music opened up. Rangiku was dressed in a short, white one-shoulder bodycon dress embellished in gold glitter, and wore glittery gold pumps on her feet and a gold tiara in her hair. Meanwhile, Orihime wore an off-shoulder skater dress in the same white and gold colour scheme, and also had gold pumps on her feet and a gold tiara in her hair. And both Orihime and Rangiku had gold jewellry adorning their ears and necks, looking both glamorous and elegant at the same time.

When the song started, both Rangiku and Orihime were singing into their microphones while dancing to the beat. And somehow, they were able to dance so gracefully even in high heels.

“How the hell they can dance in heels is beyond me,” Renji admitted. “Wouldn’t their feet hurt?”

“They’re probably used to it,” Byakuya suggested.

“You guys know those two girls?” Sayaka asked.

“Yeah, they’re some of our friends,” Renji said.

When the Beauty Queens’ performance was over, the Verse/Lyrics Award was to be presented. Even though the winner had already been announced before the ceremony, it was still a big surprise when the award went to Zaraki Kenpachi for his song ‘Monolith’.

As Kenpachi headed up on stage, dressed in a tuxedo with his long hair styled neatly in a ponytail, Renji couldn’t help but cheer while Byakuya raised an eyebrow. He’d heard that Zaraki Kenpachi had released a new album, titled ‘Death in Vision’, back in August, but he’d never listened to it.

“Was the song good?” he asked Renji.

Renji nodded with a grin. “Fuck yeah, it was,” he said. “The lyrics are really good, kinda subverting his traditional themes of violence, and the synth really adds a great vibe to the song.”

“Gotta agree with you on that,” Takuya said with a laugh. “Plus, his growls are as sick as ever, aren’t they?”

“Damn right!”

Byakuya couldn’t help but smile. To think that both father and son liked this kind of music.

“It’s funny,” Byakuya said. “He’s a fan of Zaraki Kenpachi, I’m a fan of Unohana Retsu, Kenpachi’s wife.”

“Me too,” Junko said with a smile. “She has a beautiful voice, doesn’t she?”

“She does.” Byakuya laughed slightly. “I think that’s why it’s easy for me to forget that her lyrics are very violent.”

After the Composition, Special Honour, and Special Awards, it was another live performance. This time, it was Tousen Kaname, and his song ‘Hakuro’. His hair was styled in several dark braids and his outfit consisted of a white sleeveless coat over black leather pants, white boots, black fingerless gloves, a band-like visor, and an orange rope running from his right shoulder across his chest to under his left arm. As always, his voice sounded amazing, and his performance was as wistful as the song’s melody.

“It’s great to see that Tousen Kaname’s doing better now,” Naoki said. “He was going through a lot of struggles, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Renji said. “He had some severe depression at some point and it almost made him quit the music industry, but he’s managed to recover now.”

After Tousen’s performance, they presented the Best Vocal Performance Award, which went to the Beauty Queens, and then the Japan Composer’s Association Award. And then it was the Album Excellence Award, which went to the Beauty Queens again, for their album _Goodbye Halcyon Days._

And at the end of the night, the Grand Prix award was announced and presented to the winner: the Beauty Queens. Among the nominations were the Tres Bestias, Komamura Sajin, and Tousen Kaname. With that, the award show was over.

“Well, I think we should be heading back,” Renji said, and Byakuya nodded in agreement.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Byakuya-kun,” Takuya said. “And it was nice seeing you again, Renji. You two take care on your way home, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Renji said with a smile.

After more hugs and goodbyes, Renji and Byakuya were on their way home.

“So, what’d you think of them?” Renji asked.

“They’re good people,” Byakuya said honestly. “I… I’m a little jealous now. I wish I could’ve grown up in such a warm environment like that. And I wouldn’t mind meeting them again.”

Renji smiled. “I’m glad,” he said. “And hey, I’m sure my folks would love to meet you again some time.”

Seeing that smile on Renji’s face… it was clear the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, even if Renji wasn’t biologically related to his family. That same warmth and gentleness that Byakuya had seen in Renji’s family, it was all there in him.

And he was so grateful to experience it.

* * *

The New Year celebrations went by without much incident. Renji had gone to the Meiji shrine with his bandmates on New Year’s Day, all of them dressed in traditional kimono, and had gotten a photo. As a joke, Ichigo had captioned the photo with ‘I feel like a Shinigami’ on his Twitter, and since then, ‘Shinigami’ became adopted by the fans as their own nickname.

Now, the third of January had come, and it was time for a meeting about the joint-concert on White Day between Black Moon and Byakuya. When Renji arrived at the meeting room, he saw that Byakuya and Ukitake had already shown up, and so had Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Shuuhei. Once Chad, Toshiro, and Ishida showed up, the meeting started.

“So, how will we go about this concert?” Shuuhei asked. “Like, will we perform first, then Byakuya? Or will we all be on stage and take turns singing?”

“I’d like if we were all on stage,” Ichigo said. “The fans would also definitely love that as well.”

Byakuya raised his hand slightly. “If I may,” he said, getting their attention, “does anyone know about All Things’ End?”

Renji nodded. “That was a joint-concert between Zaraki Kenpachi and Unohana Retsu, right?”

“Actually, that was more of a theatrical rock show,” Yoruichi pointed out.

“I’ve heard the name, but I don’t know what it was about,” Chad said.

“All Things’ End was a theatrical rockshow combined with music and illumination effects,” Byakuya explained. “The first show was so successful that they did two more shows; each show focused on a different plot, but the theme was the same. They also had several guest artists taking on supporting characters in some shows.”

“Yeah, one of the main plots was a tragic, star-crossed love story between Unohana-san, the Queen of Light, and Zaraki Kenpachi, the Demon King,” Renji remembered.

That had been the concert where Unohana and Kenpachi had fallen in love with each other in real life, actually.

“More specifically, Unohana-san represented the light while Zaraki-san represented darkness,” Byakuya said. “I was thinking that we could do a theatrical rock show, not with that plot, but with something else instead.”

Ukitake looked thoughtful. “That sounds like a good idea,” he said. “But your style of music is completely different from that of Black Moon, so we have to make sure the plot of the show will work for the both of you.”

They were discussing possible storylines for this live, while also taking their albums into consideration. It took some careful poring over each other’s lyrics and themes in each album so that they could form a plot that made sense and could work with both their styles of music.

After a while of discussion, they finally had a plot formed.

“I think we got a good storyline. Yoruichi-san, Ukitake-san, can you guys take notes?” Byakuya asked. “So, my character will be simply known as ‘The Prince’, and is a pure, good-hearted man, but he has a dark side. And one night, his dark side awakens when he meets the forces of darkness, represented by Black Moon.”

It was Ichigo’s turn to speak. “My character will be ‘The Incubus’, and the rest of Black Moon will be demons. The Incubus knows that The Prince has a dark side, and he wants to awaken it and have him embrace his inner darkness. And at the end, The Prince will accept and embrace his dark side wholly.”

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. “The seduction of a good-hearted hero?” she said as she took down notes. “I dunno about you, but that actually sounds kinda… sexy.”

“But it definitely sounds like a good idea,” Ukitake agreed. “So, you know what songs will be going on the setlist?”

“Yeah, we got an idea,” Renji said.

“Oh, and by the way, you don’t mind me doing fanservice with you, Byakuya?” Ichigo asked him.

Byakuya shook his head. “No, I do not mind,” he said. “However, I myself will not do anything downright… raunchy. I’m fine with a more sensual approach, but raunchy antics make me uncomfortable.”

“That’s fair,” Ichigo said with a laugh. “And you, Renji? You okay with it?”

Renji nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine with it.”

“And how about a name? We should come up with a good name for the show,” Chad said. “Something that captures both our styles and aesthetics.”

The naming of the show didn’t take too long. After a brief discussion, they’d all agreed upon a title: ‘Concerto of White Nights’. And after another while, they landed a good venue for the show: EX Theater Roppongi, located in the Roppongi district. In addition, they would be performing on March 14th, the White Day itself.

“So, is everyone looking forward to it?” Yoruichi asked as they wrapped up the meeting.

Renji nodded. “Yeah, it’s gonna be great,” he said.

“You guys have done a lot of lives so far,” Byakuya observed.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need a break after this,” Shuuhei joked.

“Not for me, though,” Ichigo said with a laugh. “If I can, I’ll do lives until I die.”

This year had barely even started and they already had a busy schedule ahead of them. But Renji didn’t mind. After all, performing lives was one of the best parts of being a musician, and he couldn’t wait to return to the tour. Sure, he would be missing Byakuya’s first live at Shinjuku Blaze, but he promised that he would try and see the live at the beginning of February in Tokyo.

He couldn’t wait to do the show together with Byakuya. It was going to be great.

**Author's Note:**

> I based the idea of a live between Black Moon and Byakuya on the Node of Scherzo, a theatrical rock show by Versailles, Kaya, and Juka. I know it was done to one major song and focused on different plots, so I had to tweak it a little bit to make it work. Regardless, I thought it was a pretty creative way of doing a live, and I wanted to try and incorporate it into this fic.
> 
> In terms of the musical characters, I have a better idea as to which musicians all the musical characters represent throughout this series:
> 
> Black Moon=the GazettE/Diaura  
> Byakuya=Kamijo/Versailles Philharmonic Quintet  
> Beauty Queens=E-Girls/Scandal  
> Unohana Yachiru=Nightwish/Within Temptation  
> Zaraki Kenpachi=Crossfaith  
> Tousen Kaname=Gackt  
> Tres Bestias=Kalafina
> 
> Let me know how I did :) Have a good one!


End file.
